Drama revisits streets of Brazil

City of Men is a companion piece to City of God, the explosive Brazilian movie about the gangs of impoverished youths roaming the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

City of Men is a companion piece to City of God, the explosive Brazilian movie about the gangs of impoverished youths roaming the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

City of God clearly had concern for the social plight of kids raised on machismo and guns, but it brutally destroyed any good will with its weakness for flashy tricks and sudden violence, not to mention enough subplots to stock a miniseries.

City of Men is set in about the same neighborhood and was directed by Paulo Morelli, an associate of City of God's director, Fernando Meirelles, who serves as co-producer. It is less flashy, less violent and less empathetic but far more contrived and naive.

The film centers on a pair of lifelong friends, Acerola and Laranjinha, labeled conveniently in the subtitles as Ace and Wallace. Ace is an 18-year-old father who chafes at having to watch his young son while the tot's mother makes a living. Wallace is on a quest to find the father he never knew.

Eventually, everybody's father issues collide, as Ace learns how his father was killed and turns to the gang that he and his buddy had always avoided. Wallace improbably locates his father, who had an unhappy connection with Ace's dad.

Meanwhile, the gang leader and a former lieutenant start a turf war that has everyone running through the streets firing at random.

True to the spirit of an overly contrived screenplay, the friends have to face each other.

Whereas City of God, despite its excess, seemed to bear a resemblance to grim reality, City of Men seems like an imitation of Boyz N the Hood played for easy pathos.

At times, the film is hard to follow, especially when minor characters barge in demanding screen time.

The young cast is vibrantly authentic, as are the streets and beaches of a side of paradise that the city keeps hidden from tourists.

Unfortunately, the story comes by way of too many after-school specials.

fgabrenya@dispatch.com

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